AEW head honcho Tony Khan says that Adam Cole joining AEW is a dream come true.

Cole made his AEW debut at the conclusion of the All Out PPV. Reports had been rolling out claiming that the former NXT Champion was on his way out of WWE. The reports were correct.

Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan admitted that having Cole on the AEW roster is something he dreamt of.

“I’ve never felt better. I’ve never felt better about anything. This show was almost two years in the making really. There were things that happened on this show that have been talked about for so long. I always dreamed of the day that Adam Cole would come to AEW. I always believed that some day it would be possible, though I didn’t know it would be so soon. That’s a dream come true. He’s always been a talent we’ve had a close eye on and he’s been somebody I’ve been very fortunate to get a closer look at, because our Women’s World Champion Dr. Britt Baker obviously lives with him. He’s somebody that I’ve know and kept an eye on.”

Adam Cole extended his contract with WWE in order to complete his feud with Kyle O’Reilly. Following All Out, Cole said that giving O’Reilly the win on his way out was important to him as the two are close friends.

Cole is set to make his in-ring debut for AEW on the Sept. 15 edition of Dynamite. He’ll be going one-on-one with Kazarian.

AEW head honcho, Tony Khan, can now admit that Adam Cole had him worried when he was on WWE’s NXT brand.

Cole became the talk of the wrestling world when news broke that his WWE contract expired. Cole didn’t leave the company high and dry in the middle of a feud with Kyle O’Reilly. He ended up signing an extension in order to give O’Reilly the final victory in their rivalry.

It didn’t take long for Cole to sign on with AEW once his contract extension with WWE ended. He appeared at the end of the All Out PPV, realigning with The Elite.

At the height of the AEW vs. NXT “Wednesday Night War,” Cole was a key player. Speaking to the media following the All Out PPV, Khan explained why he feared going up against Cole when he was on NXT.

“I’d just like to say a statement, which is that, the Wednesday Night War is over and in the demo, I believe, out of 75 episodes, we went 74-1. [Adam Cole] is the one in 74-1. When there was a Wednesday Night War, this is the man that used to strike fear into my heart every Wednesday. This guy scared the sh*t out of me every Wednesday. There is nobody I would rather have here and it means the world that he came.”

It shouldn’t take long to find out exactly what’s in-store for Cole under the AEW banner. He has already gotten physical, taking part in a brawl that involved Bryan Danielson before All Out went off the air.

During a recent AEW media call to promote All Out, Tony Khan stated that while wrestlers in his company have creative input, not one person on the roster has creative control. This includes the newly signed CM Punk.

“Not one person, including Mr. Punk and everyone on the roster, has creative control. It’s not like WCW and that is one of the issues with WCW. When you have a person who has creative control in their contract, it can hold up the show. I don’t know how you get through TV doing that,” Khan said.

Khan continued to say, however, that he encourages wrestlers to come and talk to him if something they are being asked to do doesn’t make sense.

“I’ve told (Punk) if I ever ask you to do something that doesn’t make sense, it’s not coming from a malicious place, if something doesn’t make sense, tell me and we’ll talk about it. That’s generally how I am with everyone,” he continued.  

“Just because nobody has a contractual right to tell me ‘you can’t make me do that, you can’t put me in that match,’ doesn’t mean I want to put people in bad situations or do things that don’t make sense to them or for their career or for the fans,” Khan further explained.

Wrestlers Speak On AEW’s Creative Freedom

While creative control isn’t something anyone in AEW has in their contract, many on the roster have spoken about the creative freedom they do enjoy.

“It feels really good that I’m in a place now where my creative mind can be utilized versus stopped, and controlled, and being presented in things that I know are not gonna work,” said Malakai Black on Twitch earlier this summer.

Ethan Page also spoke about the creative freedom in AEW during an interview with Chris Van Vliet.

“It’s amazing, now being in AEW, the creative freedom and I guess trust that they give their talent to kind of let them do what they want,” he said.

Ring announcer Justin Roberts also commented on the creative freedom he’s given in AEW.

“If there’s a scale of creative freedom, and there’s a one and a 10, I guess I’m at 100, since day one, it’s just one of those things where I’ve never been handed a script, or I’ve never been told what to say on anything starting from the first show when,” he said on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.

Tony Khan believes that cross-promotion has been serving AEW well.

Ever since Chris Jericho and Hiroshi Tanahashi teased the “Forbidden Door” ahead of their Wrestle Kingdom 14 match back in 2020, fans have been buzzing about potential dream matches. While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed things down, we’ve been seeing the “Forbidden Door” come to life the past few months.

During an appearance on Tuesday Wrestling Tuesday, Tony Khan explained how doing business with other promotions benefits AEW.

“IMPACT, AAA, and certainly New Japan, I’ve done a lot of stuff with. It has to make sense for AEW and we’ve seen wrestlers from AEW go and capture championships in different promotions around the world. A lot of AEW wrestlers still hold championships in various promotions around the world and it’s good for those promotions to have such strong recognizable champions who have a great TV platform to wear their titles. And it’s good for us because it shows that we’re the top company in wrestling, frankly, and a lot of companies out there have had our wrestlers come in and do really well.

“I’m very open to it and it shows good bonds between the companies and allows us access to good wrestlers. We have one of the best rosters, but it’s always good to have fresh and different talent. It’s why I like working with other companies. Also, New Japan has had big shows and have great talent specifically. I’ve done a lot of things with them. The main focus is on AEW and our shows. We have such a big roster and so much bandwidth that it allows us to expand, partner, and help other wrestling companies.”

We’ve seen the likes of Kenny Omega hold titles in Impact Wrestling and AAA. Christian Cage is the current Impact Wrestling World Champion. NJPW stars have been featured on both AEW and Impact. AEW has also done business with NWA.

Tony Khan was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio. During the discussion, he mentioned that he sometimes likes to compare AEW’s roster to the one WCW had in 1997.

“I like to compare our roster sometimes to what I think was the hallmark great roster, which was 1997 WCW,” Khan said on the show (transcriptions via Fightful).

While WCW in 1997 had many top names including Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Hollywood Hogan, Sting, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash, Khan feels it was the young and underutilized talent that really could have helped the company in the long run.

“They had a lot of young talent that they didn’t realize and they could have built for the future to help make it a profitable company that they never want to shut down. They could have made it a money-printing machine if they developed the young talent in-house that they had like Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio.”

Khan would continue to say that those young names didn’t get an opportunity in WCW. In AEW, however, Khan says he’s proud of the young homegrown stars the company has been able to produce thus far.

“I do try to build stars for the future and that’s why you have so many great homegrown stars that are being featured at All Out. There are great opportunities here and I don’t think Jericho, Mysterio, and Guerrero got those same opportunities when they were on a roster with the all-time names like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Randy Savage, and Roddy Piper.”

Chris Jericho was on the roster in WCW in 1997 and is currently a member of the AEW roster. The role he is in has swapped, however. Back in 1997, Jericho was one of those young and underutilized guys. In AEW today, Jericho is an established name and the company’s first-ever world champion.

“What a great TV business they built with that roster that unfortunately didn’t last, but I think would have lasted longer if they had built the young stars the way I try to do,” he said.

Tony Khan admits he had been in talks with CM Punk for quite a while.

When CM Punk arrived in AEW, it was the worst kept secret. AEW intended for it to be that way, dropping hints of Punk’s arrival for weeks. When Punk made his appearance on the second episode of Rampage, the crowd inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois came unglued.

During an interview with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Khan revealed that he had been speaking to CM Punk for years.

“We’ve been talking a really long time, and a few years ago, it just wasn’t the right time. I think he wanted to see how this thing went. He wasn’t ready to come back to wrestling, especially not for a startup company. Now we’re long past the startup phase. It’s been really successful. We signed a big TV extension and I think once we got the extension and it looked like we were going to be in place for a while, it probably made the company look a lot more like a stable option for CM Punk, honestly.”

Punk is set to have his first match since 2014. He’ll share the ring with Darby Allin on the All Out PPV event. It’ll be held inside the Now Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Sept. 5.

Daniel Bryan is heavily rumored to make his AEW debut very soon. Tony Khan’s comments on the matter are only going to fuel the speculation about his future.

The AEW president was recently interviewed by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. They talked about things such as the All Out PPV, CM Punk, and more.

When asked for his comments on rumors surrounding the former world champion, Khan claimed that while it’s fair to ask, he cannot answer the question right now:

“I can’t answer that question. It’s fair for you to ask that question but it’s not anything I could address on the Observer today but it’s fair enough for you to ask it. He’s one of the all-time greats.”

While Tony Khan did not comment on Daniel Bryan specifically, he did claim that they are going to make multiple additions to their roster over the next 4 to 6 months.

The reports of Bryan Danielson joining the AEW roster after leaving WWE first came out last month. AEW has since started dropping hints about the former WWE star. The first of them were seen on Being The Elite

CM Punk also recently teased Bryan during his promo on Dynamite. Latest reports suggest that Danielson is set to make his AEW debut very soon. It’d be interesting to see what he does on his first appearance.

AEW fans can expect more talent to appear in the coming months.

As AEW continues to grow, so does its roster. Fans clamored for the return of CM Punk and AEW delivered on the second episode of Rampage. Punk made his return to a thunderous ovation inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Tony Khan said Punk’s debut alone paid for itself.

Fans are eagerly awaiting the debut of Bryan Danielson, who reportedly signed with AEW. His appearance has reportedly been bumped up to the Sept. 5 All Out PPV. Khan is staying mum on the report just as he did ahead of Punk’s promotional debut.

One thing Tony Khan wasn’t shy in discussing was beefing up the AEW roster even more. Here’s what he told the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“I’m definitely going to make multiple additions over the next four to six months. I think there’ll be some activity in the near future. I can’t specify exactly what it is and I don’t think anybody would really want me to. Just like nobody would have wanted any combination of anything going into The First Dance of what it was, or how it was going to come off. But I definitely will be active and have been active signing people from day one in this company.

“Recruiting talent is key to any wrestling company. It’s key to any sports business, whether it’s the NFL or English football or wrestling. In this case of wrestling, I think we’ve built as good a roster as I believe you could build in this amount of time, with so many stars, a really really great core of people that have been here from day one, and we’ve expanded consistently. I think the additions we’ve made have been a lot of smart additions and really are very well positioned now with expanding our TV and adding a third hour. This is when I really wanted to kick into full gear so to speak.

“But the timing of it is perfect because going into All Out, which is definitely without a doubt going to be the biggest PPV event we’ve done in our history.”

All Out will feature the in-ring return of CM Punk. He’ll be going one-on-one with Darby Allin. AEW World Champion Kenny Omega will put his gold on the line against Christian Cage.

Click here for an updated look at the AEW All Out card.

What do Tony Khan and Vincent Kennedy McMahon have in common? They are both businessmen. While the media and wrestling fans around the world may view the two as being polar opposites to one another.

However, they are both men cut from the same cloth, and while, right now, they have two different ways of conducting their business, it doesn’t mean they are that far apart in mindset. Speaking during a recent appearance on the Le Batard and Friends – South Beach Sessions, Tony Khan addressed the spate of WWE releases this year. Speaking as a businessman he fully understood what was happening.

“Well, they had a really big roster, and they’ve chosen to try to maximize their profit margins by letting talent go to reduce the amount of cost they have due to talent,” Khan explained, his inner businessman coming out.

“They had a lot of really good people, and they’re making choices about why people have value to them. I can’t say what number they’re trying to hit, but they’re definitely trying to hit a number there. I think it’s about profitability, and they’re making choices, I’m sure they don’t necessarily want to make, but they’ve let good people go in the process, absolutely.”

Tony Khan Understands What It Will Take to Be a Success

There has also been a lot of talk recently from WWE about how the people up the top don’t see AEW as a credible threat. This topic was also discussed during Tony Khan’s interview. Khan understands the talk, however, with WCW and their documented faults acting as a mile marker, he believes he has what it takes to survive.

“If Ted (Turner) had been 1% as hands-on or capable as I am to run a wrestling business, WCW never would have gone out of business.”

Tony Khan also has a good friend in Eric Bischoff, who at the helm of WCW pushed WWE to their limits back during the Monday Night Wars. Armed with industry knowledge, passion and undeniable business acumen, Tony Khan believes he knows the formula for long term success, and it isn’t actually too different from WWE right now.

“There’s been one supreme commander at the top who runs a company and negotiates the contracts, negotiates the TV deals, and the arenas, and figures out who’s wrestling who and books the matches.”

Some wrestling fans, those that feel WWE can do no right will find these words worrying. However, to those that understand the industry, know the history, and appreciate the multiple pathways that constitute sports entertainment, there is an undeniable truth in his words. A truth that should instil confidence and paint a very bright future for All Elite Wrestling.

A lot of people believe that the WWE president Vince McMahon does not care about his product anymore but his AEW counterpart Tony Khan doesn’t think the same. The AEW president recently appeared on the Le Batard and Friends – South Beach Sessions. During the interview, show host Dan Le Batard wondered if Mr. McMahon doesn’t care about his product.

Replying to it, Khan claimed that the boss does care. He then recalled the 80s when Vince McMahon was trying to expand WWE and claimed that he is inspired by the effort McMahon put at the time:

“You hear about Vince going to convince Hulk Hogan, going to convince individual people to come in and work for the WWF, convincing a sponsor to come on. Vince was taking all these meetings and all this responsibility, and he was a similar age to me, and I think I’m inspired by that.”

Tony Khan continued on the topic and explained that he has taken inspiration from what Vince did in the 80s for a lot of work which he has done with AEW:

“The amount of people I’ve gone out and convinced to join AEW, signed, built relationships with that I now have under the umbrella of this company And so I tried to take a lot of inspiration from what Vince did in the ’80s building the wrestling empire and expanding it”

Apart from this, Khan talked about things such as competing against NXT in the Wednesday night wars, how fans can support both WWE and AEW at the same time without creating a hostile environment, and more.

• Tony Khan Says CM Punk Deal Paid For Itself On The 1st Night

Tony Khan was a guest on the Dan Le Batard & Friends podcast recently. During the discussion, he spoke about the deal he made to bring CM Punk to AEW. Khan said he feels the deal was one of the best he’s ever made.

“I believe this was one of the best deals I’ve ever done in my life and I don’t think it was really all about money,” Khan said.

Khan would continue to talk about how he and Punk got to know each other throughout the pandemic by speaking regularly on the phone. He feels the trust they built is what led to the deal being completed.

“I spent a lot of time talking to him on the phone getting to know each other better and building trust with each other. So, this was a long time coming, we’ve been talking a lot for about a year and a half.”

Le Batard then asked Khan if Punk paid for himself on his first night.

“Yeah, I do think so. In terms of what this has done for our business, I really believe as soon as we saw the results from this, before we even got started I knew this was the best deal we could have possibly done.”

Tony Khan Talks Deal To Bring CM Punk To AEW

Khan also spoke about how Punk was very generous with his time backstage with wrestlers on Friday night.

“He was also really cool about going backstage and offering really, really kind advice, being very good with his time with the wrestlers.”

Khan also spoke about how the idea with The First Dance was that fans would be confident Punk would be there, but not 100% sure.

“The idea by the time the show started is that all the fans would be 99% sure CM Punk is going to be there, but that 1% doubt is what made it that much better than just advertising it,” Khan said.

The full conversation with Tony Khan can be heard in the player below:

Last night’s AEW The First Dance show from a sold-out United Center in Chicago was the biggest moment in the young promotion’s history. Tony Khan spoke to the live crowd before the event began. His excitement for what was to come that night was clear.

“Thank you so much. I’ve always dreamed of doing a wrestling show here,” Khan began. “I’ve always dreamed of bringing wrestling here but I always wanted it to be the biggest, greatest night imaginable. And tonight, I promise you, we’re bringing you something very special tonight at the First Dance!”

The crowd then erupted into a CM Punk chant. Khan gets a little emotional as he continues his speech.

“It’s almost time for Rampage, everyone. We’re going to have a great night tonight. I appreciate every single one of you for being here, I appreciate you putting your faith in AEW, I appreciate you trusting us. Thank you for believing in AEW! You fans will be rewarded tonight. Thank you, Chicago! I love you!”

CM Punk returning to pro-wrestling after more than 7.5 years away would take place shortly after Khan’s speech. Punk confirmed that he signed with the promotion and will be facing Darby Allin at All Out on September 5th.

Khan’s speech can be heard in the player below:

AEW’s “The First Dance” will be the second-ever episode of Rampage. Tony Khan recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and said the format of tonight’s show will not be typical of what fans can expect from typical episodes of the show.

“The format of tonight’s show will be very different,” Khan said (transcription via WrestlingNewsCO). “It’s gonna be different than last week’s Rampage and really different than most Rampages. I think for an average Friday night, it’s gonna be a great wrestling show every Friday on Rampage. I would expect the format [for regular Rampage shows] to be more similar to what we did in the premiere episode than what we do tonight.”

Khan said a big surprise on the show has necessitated the format change.

“It’s gonna be unusual but it’s also gonna be the biggest surprise we ever delivered and that’s why it necessitates a very different format than we’ve done for just a standard wrestling card,” Khan continued.

3 matches have been scheduled for tonight. Jon Moxley will face Daniel Garcia. Jade Cargill will also take on Kiera Hogan. The 4-team tag-team tournament to determine new title contenders also kicks off tonight. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus will face Private Party in a semi-final match tonight.

It was not specifically mentioned on this week’s Dynamite that there is a big surprise expected on tonight’s show. Several CM Punk teases have been made in recent weeks, however. Khan also alluded to a big planned surprise tonight in the below Tweet:

The second edition of AEW Rampage figures to be one that wrestling fans can’t miss.

While it hasn’t been announced, the general consensus is that CM Punk will be making his AEW debut inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois tomorrow night (Aug. 20). Punk hasn’t been a part of a wrestling show outside of WWE Backstage since 2014.

The upcoming episode of Rampage dubbed The First Dance has been heavily promoted by AEW to the point where extra seating recently opened up for the United Center.

AEW founder Tony Khan took to his Twitter account to tease the biggest announcement in the company’s history tomorrow night.

“I’m betting that excitement from the most anticipated announcement in AEW
history at AEW Rampage The First Dance will build up through All Out on PPV. We’ll make new fans + we’ll welcome dormant wrestling households worldwide back into the fold; a new era in AEW begins tomorrow.”

Tony Khan hasn’t been shy in teasing what AEW fans can expect from the upcoming Rampage episode. He told Busted Open Radio the following.

“It’s going to be a huge card, and tonight [Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite] we’ll establish more of what’s coming on the premiere of Rampage. Of course, I think everyone knows what to expect on the second episode of Rampage, which is titled ‘The First Dance.’ And I expect the anticipation will continue to build.”

Three matches have been set for The First Dance. Former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will take on Daniel Garcia. Plus, Jurassic Express will meet Private Party in an AEW World Tag Team Title eliminator. Also set for the card will be Jade Cargill vs. Kiera Hogan.

Stick with SEScoops tomorrow night as we’ll keep you posted on the major news that comes out of The First Dance. Of course, we’ll also be bringing you full results.

Tony Khan claims that when Fuego Del Sol was offered his AEW contract on the debut episode of Rampage, it was a total shoot.

This past Friday night (Aug. 13), Del Sol challenged Miro for the TNT Championship. The stipulation was that if Del Sol won then not only would he become a titleholder but he’d also be offered an AEW contract. Despite getting off to a blazing start, nailing Miro with three tornado DDTs, Del Sol was crushed by the Machka Kick and was forced to tap out to the Game Over.

After the match, Miro seemingly tore up Del Sol’s contract. When Rampage returned from commercial break, Del Sol was in the ring and received cheers from the Pittsburgh crowd. Sammy Guevara then made his entrance and was handed a contract by Khan. He then presented it to Del Sol, revealing his best friend is now All Elite.

“Fuego, Fuego man you lost but sometimes there’s victory in defeat. I mean, you’ve been coming here for the past year, you’re like 1-50 but who cares cause these people love you. And Fuego, whether you know it a lot of guys love you back there too. Tony Khan thought it was only right for me to be the one to come out here, since you’re my best friend, to say officially Fuego Del Sol is All Elite.”

During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Khan revealed that the moment Del Sol received his contract was a legit shoot.

“That was a complete shoot. Fuego had no idea that was going to happen. Sammy was the only person I told, and Fuego was legitimately surprised to receive the contract he’s been dreaming of and chasing.”

Fuego Del Sol has yet to have a singles victory under the AEW banner. His only win with the promotion was a tag team match.

Tony Khan is quite pleased with how the debut episode of AEW Rampage unfolded.

This past Friday night (Aug. 13), the first-ever Rampage event took place inside the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania. Rampage got off to a hot start when Christian Cage defeated Kenny Omega to capture the Impact Wrestling World Title. We then saw Fuego Del Sol fail to capture the TNT Title from Miro. Despite the loss, Del Sol was given a contract with AEW.

Headlining the card was an AEW Women’s World Title match. Champion Britt Baker put her gold on the line against Red Velvet. Baker won the match via Lockjaw. After the match, Kris Statlander attempted to thwart Britt’s post-match attack on Velvet. Statlander ended up being ambushed by Jamie Hayter, who is now All Elite.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Khan expressed joy in how AEW was able to pull off the first Rampage show.

“This was one of the biggest nights in the history of the company, and it was a great show. We went in with a tremendous card of three championship matches and a plan to deliver the best one-hour wrestling TV show anyone’s seen in a very long time. We needed to hit a home run, and we did. Everyone across the board, including production and staff, did a tremendous job.”

Tony Khan also hyped up the Aug. 20 edition of Rampage and seemingly dropped another CM Punk hint.

“We highlighted our people, and that led to great moments. Tonight was all about showing fans the top stars of AEW, ones that are becoming mainstream names in wrestling and even outside of it, too. This is the perfect time to launch Rampage, and I wanted to go in as hot as possible.

“Next week’s Rampage is ‘The First Dance’, and I think everyone knows what to expect—and everyone is very excited. We built a foundation here for what you’re going to see next week. This was a huge premiere, and there is tons of anticipation for next week in Chicago.”

Did you like the debut episode of AEW Rampage?

AEW President Tony Khan recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio in his now permanent slot. The owner of All Elite discussed several topics during his latest appearance, including AEW Rampage which debuts on Friday night.

“TNT is so happy with how Rampage is tracking already” Tony Khan began. “I think they think it’s going to be a huge hit. There’s definitely a lot of interest and we owe the people at TNT.”

“They could not have rolled out the red carpet anymore for us” Khan continued, praising AEW’s network. “They have so much in terms of promoting the show. There’s been ads all over the place.”

“I watched Seinfeld on TBS last night when I checked into the hotel in Pittsburgh. Every time it went to break, there were Rampage commercials, which is great” Khan added.

Tony Khan on TNT Network

“So it’s on all kinds of shows, including other wrestling shows. And I really, really am happy that they’re promoting it… Really, I think with two shows it’s going to provide more opportunities, more upward mobility” Khan noted, alluding to the huge roster that All Elite now has.

“But it’s still going to be a star-driven show, Rampage, just like Dynamite is a star-driven show. And I think what Elevation and Dark have given us the ability to do is develop stars and get them TV ready. Now there’s more TV real estate for everyone to work towards getting in there and fighting for” the AEW President concluded.

AEW confirmed several matches for Rampage this Friday on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Here’s the full confirmed card for the debut show on Friday 13th:

• IMPACT World Championship – Kenny Omega (c) vs Christian Cage
• AEW Women’s Championship – Dr Britt Baker D.M.D (c) vs Red Velvet
• TNT Championship – Miro (c) vs Fuego Del Sol

AEW President Tony Khan made his weekly appearance on Busted Open Radio this morning. TK was on hand to promote tonight’s AEW Dynamite from Pittsburgh, PA and Friday’s AEW Rampage premiere.

As per usual, “Tony Time” yielded some newsworthy items. Here are some highlights of what was discussed:

Rampage is a great news for wrestling fans and AEW. It’s been a busy week (“Sleep is overrated”) but things are about to pick up over the next two weeks leading up to the First Dance on 8/20. Everybody in AEW has been looking forward to the launch of Rampage. It will create new opportunities and matchups for the entire AEW roster.

TNT has been very happy about the early buzz for Rampage. There’s a lot of interest and TNT has rolled out the red carpet for AEW, in terms of promotion. Tonight on Dynamite, we’ll learn more about the card for Friday’s Rampage premiere.

Dark and Dark: Elevation have helped them cultivate new talent, but Rampage is “still going to be a star-driven show.”

Dan Lambert from American Top Team and his “backup” (two great UFC champions) – that is being pushed back to next week in Houston, Texas. Lambert previously brought Amanda Nunes and Jorge Masvidal to Dynamite.

Khan called next week’s AEW Rampage: The First Dance, “The most anticipated wrestling television show in years.”

He spoke about the benefits of working with other promotions and featuring non-AEW talent on AEW programming. Khan said he has no problem helping other companies if it helps AEW at all.

AEW Rampage will not have a 4-man commentary team at all times. There are 4 hosts announced, but sometimes it will be 3 guys calling a match.

AEW Rampage premieres this Friday night at 10pm (Eastern) on TNT.

Recent reports suggested that AEW President Tony Khan and AEW’s EVPs recently traveled to Chicago. The report speculated that this could have something to do with AEW eyeing a bigger venue in the city. According to comments made by Tony Khan on Busted Open Radio, however, the report was “pure fiction.”

“There’s been a lot of false rumors out there, that’s the other thing, there are people chasing these things and trying to connect the dots,” Khan said on the show. “I know a lot of the stuff that has been reported in the last week has been totally false.”

“There’s this website BodySlam, for example, I saw them put a report out that myself and all the EVPs had traveled this past weekend and it was total BS. None of us were even in the same state,” Khan said.

Khan continued to say that he was in Florida for Paige VanZant’s bare-knuckled boxing fight when he saw the report. He continued to say that his family’s private jet had been tracked but it was his parents who were on it at the time.

“It was total fiction. They tracked my family’s plane, it was my parents on the plane! And then the guy claimed ‘oh, I know which tail number is yours and which one’s your parents,’ it was total fiction and this guy got totally bamboozled by a fake source and it was embarrassing and there’s been a lot of fake reporting like that the last couple of weeks,” Khan continued.

Khan’s comments were posted to Twitter below:

Tony Khan was recently interviewed by the NY Post and did a solid job of not answering questions relating to CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. The AEW President would state, however, that “there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now.”

When asked if he had “signed and/or talked to any former WWE champions” lately, Khan was quick to say there were some things he would not be commenting on during the interivew.

“I have no comment on those, but those are good questions but I can’t comment on those,” Khan said.

Khan was then asked what it would mean if another wrestling promotion were to sign CM Punk and/or Daniel Bryan.

“I can’t comment on those two guys, but I think there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now,” Khan said.

Tony Khan on Fight for the Fallen

Tony Khan would comment on what Fight for the Fallen has come to mean for AEW over the last few years. This will be the 3rd event in its history.

“I think it’s one of our major events — the charitable component really makes it stand out — and an important event on the calendar, and it’s something we’ve done from the beginning. It predates even ‘Dynamite.’ We always load it up with big matches, I always try to put a lot of great matches on a “Fight for the Fallen” card, but also now it will have an extra special touch to it because the event is also about helping people.”

6 matches and 2 segments have been announced for tonight. In addition to the matches below, Tony Khan will announce a new AEW live event and Ricky Starks will have a celebration segment for winning the FTW title.

1. Christian Cage & The Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) vs. The Hardy Family Office(Angelico, Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
2. Julia Hart vs Thunder Rosa
3. Five Labours Of Jericho #2 No Disqualification Match
   Chris Jericho vs. Nick Gage
4. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. The Inner Circle (Ortiz & Santana) (w/Konnan)
5. IWGP United States Championship
   Lance Archer (c) vs. Hikuleo
6. 10-Man Elimination Match
   Adam Page & The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, John Silver & Stu Grayson) vs. The Elite (Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

As the CM Punk to AEW rumors continue, it is being reported that Tony Khan and AEW’s EVPs flew to Chicago yesterday. According to a report from Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net, AEW might be looking at a new venue in the city.

AEW is reportedly eyeing the United Center in Chicago for a future event. Previously, the All Out/All In events have run from what is now known as the NOW Center (previously the Sears Center) just outside of the city.

Tickets for All Out 2021 sold out quickly, however, so AEW might be looking for a larger venue in one of its hottest markets. The 2019 event drew a crowd of 10,500.

The United Center can hold 19-20,000 for hockey and basketball games, and around 22,000 for concerts. The last time a wrestling event was held in the venue was a WWE house show in late 2018.

The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks.

Although not confirmed, it is believed Khan and the EVPs were in town to film some promotional content at the United Center.

Tony Khan is scheduled to make an announcement regarding a new live event this week on Dynamite as well.

WWE typically runs the Allstate Arena near Chicago for events. That was the venue for CM Punk’s WWE title win over John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011. It was also the host venue for Survivor Series 2019 and NXT TakeOver: War Games III.

The Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch between World Champion Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley in the main event of this year’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view event didn’t go according to plan.

There was supposed to be a big explosion when the clock counted down to zero, but that didn’t happen as it was a botched explosion or as some have stated, a “dud.”

AEW President Tony Khan talked about the situation in February during an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show. 

“I’ll never let the non-wrestling people…I was trying to be too safe and I let the professionals handle the stuff and they are guys who don’t understand wrestling. A professional pyrotechnic guy. They totally shit the bed. I ended up not paying them. It was like $100,000 they ended up refunding for all the expenses of the match. I ended up not paying for the (exploding) barbed wire deathmatch, which I shouldn’t have. They screwed up royally.”

Khan stated that they put together something great and Omega and Moxley worked hard, but it was forgotten due to the final explosion. 

“This is because we used professional pyrotechnic people who are supposed to know. The next time we do this, and I will do it again because the match drew. Everything Jon and Kenny did up until that point was outstanding, it wasn’t their fault it didn’t go off.”

Khan stated that it was a long time ago and they’ve bounced back since then. He pointed out how the next pay-per-view [Double or Nothing] was up and did a big number.

Tony Khan can stand back and be proud of everything AEW has achieved so far. Not only have they flourished in the early years of their formation, but they did so in the face of a global pandemic. An event that challenged the world and changed the face of sport for over a year.

AEW made the choice to resist the call for virtual fans. Choosing instead for an open-air stadium as part of Tony Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars complex.

During a recent discussion on Barstool’s Pardon My Take podcast, Tony Khan spoke about AEW, and especially their core PPV Double or Nothing.

Khan was proud of the way both editions of the annual show have turned out, making a bold claim against WWE’s own premier PPV, Wrestlemania.

“I’ll tell you something; Double or Nothing last year and this year, in my opinion, was a better show (than WrestleMania). I liked this year’s WrestleMania a lot better than last years. They had some fans this year and everyone there worked their ass off both years. This year I thought, both (were) good shows. They did a two-night show, and it was a good show. But I thought Double or Nothing this year was outstanding, and it was the best wrestling show of the year so far. And last year Double or Nothing, during the pandemic, it kicked the s**t out of WrestleMania last year. The pandemic version last year? Not even close. Double or Nothing was a much better show.”

Every Right to be Confident

Tony Khan is a businessman at heart, and it is natural that he will think his product superior. However, it is interesting to see the pressure that AEW has already placed on WWE. A bigger name, a bigger brand, with unquestionably more history. To be confident enough to make such claims already speaks for both Tony Khan and the way he runs his business.

Looking at the strides AEW has made in their first year. The addition of a second weekly television show, as well as the formation of two dark shows. The names they have signed both in the ring and out. It all speaks of the clarity of vision Khan has for the product, and the passion he brings to his job.

Tony Khan recently appeared as a guest on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take. During the discussion, the AEW President spoke about his theories regarding booking legends, current stars, and developing talent.

“I believe in the wrestling of the past, the present and the future,” Khan said on the show. “The top stars of the past still have great value and can still come in and contribute in a meaningful way. Sting and Jake the Snake are still a huge part of our show, just as an example.”

Khan would then continue to say that he’s careful to make sure the young talent is booked in a meaningful way in addition to the top stars of the past and present. He said it’s all about keeping the past, present, and future all together in an organized show.

“We have a great roster of really young talent. Some of them became viral wrestling stars before AEW. They are being pushed in a meaningful way. Like I said, the past the present and the future all in one. And then trying to keep into a fun, organized show that delivers good wrestling every single Wednesday.”

Khan spoke on a variety of other topics during the discussion including Jaguars football, balancing his various roles, and the AEW’s shows this fall in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Last week, an article in Forbes revealed that the only thing keeping AEW from being profitable at the moment is a significant investment made into developing a video game.

“Khan expects its wrestling division to be profitable this year, though an eight-figure investment in video game development will keep the company in the red for now,” an excerpt from the article reads.

Tony Khan recently spoke to PW Insider about how that investment will eventually lead to big returns for his company. He also commented on those who have been critical of the investment.

“I’ve made this huge investment into video games and it’s comical to me that anybody would try to pull it… it goes to show that I think people will try and take a negative out of a positive sometimes because this is a hugely positive thing,” Khan said.

Video Game Returns Won’t Come In Until 2022

The game won’t be released until next year. Therefore, the money spent on developing it won’t yield a return until at least 2022. This is the reason why AEW won’t show a profit in 2021.

“I have made this huge eight figure investment into video games, but we won’t see any revenue from that until 2022. That’s why it’s not going to pay off in 2021 on our books,” Khan said.

Khan continued to talk about AEW approaching profitability so quickly.

“Our wrestling company is very profitable. The only reason I won’t net money this year on AEW in our second full year of operations, which is pretty amazing, frankly, for a startup that has had the level of investment that we’ve had behind AEW and the amount of time that this has been going, that we’ll be significantly profitable already as a venture.”

Khan also noted, however, that it’s not just about making money. He is very proud at the way they have conducted business throughout the pandemic.

“I care about running a profitable business, but I also take a lot of pride in the fact that I didn’t lay people off through the pandemic. Almost everybody, we have a over 95% retention rate of people through the pandemic and I actually had significantly higher than 95%. Almost everybody that we started with is here,” he continued.